Best Marijuana Strains: 3 Kings – The Magi of Marijuana

We three kings of orient are /
two on horses one in a car /
Field and fountain, moor and mountain /
Following yonder star

I can’t help but hear the corrupted Christmas carol every time I look at this jar of 3 Kings, a decidedly unholy trinity of Headband, Sour Diesel and OG Kush delivered by CRAFT Collective in Berkeley and the smoked favorite of Sour Diesel and OG Kush lovers everywhere.

Like the mythic three wise men, the story of 3 Kings is muddled and its mystery only makes it more engaging. According to the Book of Matthew, three “magi” or wise men – later upgraded to “kings” by the Christians – reportedly visited the infant Jesus and became the first VIPs to worship the newborn deity. They knelt before him and dropped off some gold, and two types of aromatic plant resin — essential oils, really: frankincense and myrrh. Then they took off out of Bethlehem via “a different route”, because King Herod wanted to have a talk with them about where baby Jesus was, so the King could kill him.

The three magi were never heard from again, though myths abound about where they came from (Asia, Arabia, etc.) and where they went. They weren’t even kings at all, but “magi”, which means astrologers from the priestly caste of Zoroastrians. Expert star watchers, they allegedly followed a new star right to Jesus’ frickin’ house, which is just crazy. They were like Biblical paparazzi.

Depiction of the Magi

Either way, they’re a core part of the nativity story forever, and a key biblical reference in Western Civilization. Ice Cube, Mark Wahlberg, and George Clooney played leads in the well-reviewed 1999 film3 Kings, and there’s allegedly a 3 Kings ranch up in Humboldt County that may or may not be responsible for the strain. God knows, weed growers love being irreverent with their strain names.

Weed also came out of the East, like the magi. It evolved in Central Asia millions of years ago, and has been used for at least 9,000 years as yet another type of aromatic resin, often combined with other essential oils to treat a wide variety of maladies. It came to the Americas with the Spanish conquistadors, and has been an American native longer than our own country existed. The word marijuana” is thought to be a Catholic Mexican idiom derived from the mother of Jesus called Mary and her husband John (Juan).

Used in oils and tinctures until the ’30s, marijuana medicine went underground for 60 years but by no means disappeared. As marijuana laws begin to relax globally, the number of types of cannabis has exploded into the hundreds. Kings among them are OG Kush and Sour Diesel. Both OG Kush and Sour Diesel are direct descendants of an almost-mythical Colorado strain called Chemdawg, which was reportedly obtained – I kid you not – at a Grateful Dead concert. The story before then is lost to time.

At any rate, Chemdawg went East to become Sour Diesel, and West to become OG Kush, and it was only a matter of time before breeders crossed the royal lines to form Headband, and re-crossed them again to form 3 Kings.

CRAFT carries one of the best examples of the strain your likely to find anywhere in the Bay Area. The high-end, boutique collective only carries Clean Green-certified organic pot, in this case grown indoors to perfection. Even CRAFT’s jar’s are expertly designed and tinted amber to protect the buds inside. 3 Kings smells like OG Kush and Sour Diesel, that is to say: sour, lemony, and astringent — like a type of fuel. Like frankincense and myrrh, it’s 3 Kings’ copious aromatic molecules – or terpenes – that create its pungent aroma, and the terpenes themselves have proven therapeutic value.

We see classic OG Kush and Sour Diesel genes in our sample. These nugs are medium-sized, and dense with light and dark green leaf, rusty pistils, and a copious crop of tiny trichomes barely visible to the naked eye – a galaxy of psychoactive molecules shimmers on every tiny little leaf.

Our stems snapped crisply, indicating a good cure, and grinding released even more aroma, though we’ve smelled some SFV OGs and Super Sour Diesels with much stronger noses. Hey, OG competition in the Bay Area is fierce.

The strain smoked smooth and had zero throat burn, indicating a good flush, but the taste was flat compared to the monster flavor that can be found in local OGs.

The endless crosses and recrossing has centered this hybrid’s effects, so it’s not racy or sleepy. Patients report using it after work to unwind, like three glasses of wine, or an extended session with this video of a monkey in a snowsuit jumping around in a Russia street. Feelings of well-being will follow. Maybe 3 Kings isn’t that unholy. …

O Star of wonder, star of night
Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to thy Perfect Light

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